The present invention relates to games, and more particularly pertains to a new type of card game especially adapted for casino gambling, both in live table and electronic video formats.
As a leisure time activity, poker and other card games have fascinated the public for years. A deck of cards, a playing surface and a few participants are all that is needed to provide a recreational few hours away from the stress and strain of daily life. Almost everyone knows how to play some variation of a rummy-type card game in which players attempt to acquire 3 or more card suited runs (such as 4 club, 5 club, 6 club) and sets of 3 or 4 of a kind (such as 4 club, 4 diamond, 4 spade) in order to make a play or so-called "spread".
Many places, both within and without the United States, have legalized gaming and poker is one of the games of chance that is offered in both casinos and cardrooms. In a conventional cardroom poker game, the house provides a dealer, the playing cards, the table and chairs but does not play a hand. The house collects a nominal percentage of each player's bet (the "rake") which compensates the house for providing the facilities to the players. Alternatively, the house may charge each player a set amount per hand or for a specified length of time, say one-half hour. Each player is competing not against the house, but against all the other players with the highest hand winning the total of all the wagers made on that hand.
Many people do not like to play cardroom poker because each player is competing against his fellow players, not against the house. Many people would rather attempt to win money from an impersonal source, the house or the casino, rather than from their fellow players with whom they may be acquainted.
Cardroom poker also does not offer any bonus payments for particularly good hands. While a Royal Flush is a rare occurrence and generates a thrill for any poker player, the player collects the same total wager that he would have collected if all he needed to beat the other players was Three of a Kind.
Casino card game variants are known in which the players each compete against the dealer or house, rather than against each other. Blackjack or Twenty-One is an example of such a game. Many people are relatively unfamiliar with the game of Blackjack, since this game is not frequently played in home environments on a recreational basis. Thus, many people are reluctant to participate in Blackjack games when visiting a casino.